America’s Got Talent: Episode 11 Review

After weeks of auditions, we’re finally with the judges in Las Vegas for the next round of ‘America’s Got Talent.’ We’ve seen the worst and now have the supposed best on stage. But will those chosen to move forward be able to deliver their superb talent to the judges a second time? We’ll just have to watch and see.

The episode begins with all of the selected contestants hopping on planes over to Vegas. It’s easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of this City of Sin, but some contestants have butterflies in their stomach over how they’ll be on that stage. Either way, there’s just one thought pulsating through their minds at that point: they have to make it to the next round.

The morning of “Vegas Week” has arrived. All of the contestants wait in the lobby of The Venetian, eagerly awaiting their judges to come forth and give them a few words of encouragement before getting tossed into the fire, as it were. But that’s not the case at all! Howard Stern, Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandell step forward and announce that they’re already eliminating a few people before the semi finals even begin. Now it’s getting interesting.

“The hardest part is yet to come.” They divided them into two groups. The judges favorites are the ones who will perform first. The Stand-by’s will perform second, if there are any remaining spots that are left over. There’s a board with their names on the groups. If you name isn’t on either board then they won’t be in Las Vegas and will be shipped home right away. “For those of you who are performing, impress us or we will send you home immediately” says Howard sternly (sorry).

Several of the audition contestants have been added to the Judges Favorite list including Andrew De Leon, the opera singer, the Escape Artist and many others. But then there’s the Stand-By group who isn’t too happy to be on there. Those on that portion of the list include Emily Anne Band, the Human Cannonball, Charlie C. the R&B singer, and Stepz the dancer. Then the last portion of talent are faced with a harsh reality when they realize that their name isn’t on the list.

All of the contestants who weren’t listed on the Judges Favorite or Stand-By list are brought out to a not-so-friendly looking stage. Sharon makes a couple of the groups step forward just to tell them that they can’t even perform in the next round. Ouch. The other half of the group is automatically selected to be part of the live shows in New York. Granted, each one of the performers that they chose more or less works in a circus-y setting so it’s kind of fitting that they’d immediately select them for the live show front.

Now it’s time to see some more auditions! We begin with the “Danger Category” where several of the acts are out to strut their stuff not only for the judges but for anyone in Las Vegas who cares to stop and take a look. All Wheel Sports starts, finally showing what they’re made of in a bigger environment compared to the dinky stage they were on the first time. Second up is the American BMX Stunt Team, and it’s here where finally somebody drops. Thankfully, the performer is fine even if his bike isn’t.

A few more acts in the “Danger Category” give it their all but aren’t wowing the judges. Lastly there is the Ben Blaque, the man behind the extreme crossbow act. He messed up in the rehearsals but hopefully that’s not the case in the actual performances. They step it up a notch, blindfolding the man and therefore freaking out the audience even more. Sharon can’t even bear to watch at this point as the assistant verbally directs him where to point the arrow. Howard thinks Ben did what he needed to do in order to further impress the judges but unfortunately Sharon and Howie think it’s too dangerous for their “Danger Category.” Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of calling the category as such?

Mary Joyner is nervous but still thinks she’ll be all right. She was the daughter of the Olympic gold medalist who managed to show the world what kind of voice she has. This time around she’s a bit off chord, not wowing everyone like last time and she even knows it once she got off the stage. Cecilia Detwiler easily is the best voice of the group, but we won’t know if she moves forward until later. Then there’s Luna, a fine female singer who’s so incredibly nervous that it ruins her performance. Unfortunately she’s brought back up on the stage only to be scolded by the judges. They tell her right off the bat that she’s not moving forward. Talk about a heavy blow.

Nikki Jensen is the last female performer to step on stage. Her story is rather familiar, giving up her former life in order to make it out here in America. Thankfully she puts a smile on the judges’ face. What a relief. Though we don’t understand why Howard Stern would call her voice unique. She sounds strongly like Alanis Morrisette.

It’s time for the dance groups to go up. Each one of them think they’re better than the other, so it’ll be interesting to see if they really bring it on stage. Loyalty Dance Team are ready to bust the roof off the building. They’re scared of the 787 Crew but they’re also ready to battle against them. Loyalty has a really great routine but none of the judges are impressed. 787 Crew is fine up until the point where one of the dancers lands on the other. Yeah, that’s not a good way to start the second round.

The “Novelty Acts” portion of the competition are up now. Aurora Light Painters don’t want the nut kickers to win and are more or less biting their nails throughout the remainder of the show. Horse is the king of nut shots from the New York auditions. He has to “bring it” the second time which he does in a variety of ways. Too bad he gets slightly injured in the process.

Most of the “Novelty Acts” come and go but last are the two light-oriented groups. The Aurora Light Painters are nervous but still ready to go and whoop the Light Wire Theater’s butt. Sadly the judges don’t know what to do or which of the two groups to choose.

Lastly is the “Male Singers Act” portion. Andrew De Leon, our gothic opera singer, is there with the other two classical singers. Simply Sergio is probably the most nervous of them all mainly because he was supposed to be eliminated right away. But it’s not looking too good for him when he steps out right away when he botches his performance due to a throat cold. Wouldn’t be surprising if we didn’t see him move to the next round. At this point he doesn’t have what it takes.

Then there’s Luiz Meneghin, the San Francisco opera singer who really hopes that he manages to move forward because his house is foreclosed. He still doesn’t completely hit the notes the way you’d imagine him to, and the judges can tell right off the bat. But last is Andrew De Leon. You would think that he’d end the episode on a high note but instead he literally stops towards the end of his performance due to nerves. Don’t eliminate him Howard, Howie and Sharon, we think he’s a marvelous talent! At the same time it definitely is refreshing to see the judges actually take their work seriously. Here’s hoping they stay strict to this degree for the remainder of the show.

The second part of the three-night “Vegas Week” event continues tomorrow at 9 PM.

Welcome back to KLAW 101 - Oklahoma's Best Country

It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on .
To keep your points and personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you.
To activate your account, please confirm your password.
When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites.

*Please note that your points, prizes and activities will not be shared between programs within our VIP network.

Welcome back to KLAW 101 - Oklahoma's Best Country

It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://klaw.com using your original account information.